Always a Secret
by Realistic Fate
Summary: A side-thingy to Secretive. I wrote and MEANT to post this ages ago, but never did. Anyway, remember the letter that Holly wrote to Artemis in the story..the one I kept mentioning but never writing..well, here it is...Read Secretive before this...


_Dear Artemis...._

Holly deliberated for a long time, wondering what to write. What could she say? She was an elf who was most possibly pregnant with a Mud Man's child! She didn't even know why she was writing a letter, for Frond's sake. Even Mud Men had telephones, or she could have even plucked up the courage to speak to him face-to-face. But she was a coward when it came to personal matters. Trolls she could handle, yet she couldn't even get herself to pick up the telephone and call him.

_I really don't know what to say. Really, beyond "I'm sorry". I really am. You would probably say that this whole mess was as much your fault as it is mine, but that's a lie. I should have been more responsible. And now I'm-_

Holly couldn't bring herself to write the offending word down on paper. That would have made it all too real. She sighed, wondering how she, one of the LEP's most decorated officers, could have been stupid and reckless enough to land herself in a mess like this.

_I'm...pregnant. And I don't know who's child it is. _Whoever said that having your problems down on paper would make you feel better, Holly thought acidly, should be boiled alive. _I'm really not sure. But can't give her up. Yes, a girl. But I can't bring myself to murder something...someone who never got the chance to live._

Holly paused again. What else could she say? Not much more, surly. _I've already named her. Artemis, after you. I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't hate me._

That seemed like a fitting way to end the short yet world-shaking note. She signed it,

_You know I love you,_

_Holly_

She stuffed it in the envelope, sealed it and stamped it before she could change her mind. She didn't allow herself to breathe again until the evil thing was finally in the mail box, being sent far, far away.....

* * *

_You know I love you,_

_Holly_

Artemis stared at the letter for a long time, his breathe shallow, sweating hard. A mistake. That was it. It had to be just a mistake. Because he couldn't be a father! His brain scrambled for a logical explanation that he could easily comprehend.

"Is everything alright?" Butler asked warily. Artemis had been staring at the same spot on the wall for the last five minutes, and he was beginning to worry that something was wrong with his young charge. Artemis awoke from his stupor, shaking his head.

"No, old friend. Everything is definitely not alright." He had a strange look on his face; Butler recognized it the face of a drowning man. Artemis held out the letter in response to Butler's confused look.

Butler scanned the note quickly, gleaning only the critical facts and skipping over the details. After reading it, he had to sit down, and did so on the chair next to Artemis's. He placed his massive hand on Artemis's back, attempting to comfort him, but the boy was well beyond human reach. Perhaps he's going into shock, Butler thought. "What are you going to do?" He waited for his response, which he knew would come in a full ten minutes, Artemis answered, but Butler felt nothing to ease his growing anxiety.

"I don't know, old friend. I don't know...."

* * *

Well, that's all, folks! Hope you liked it, 'kuz I sure loved writing it. The next chapter of Unknown should be up soon, as soon as I bypass S.S.S. Read that one next!!!! No, seriously, you don't have to, but it would be a nice touch. Heck, it would be an even nicer touch if you reviewed, but, eh, I'm not picky (Not, really, review). So, I say _Au Revoir!_ in my tacky French accent, and hope that whatever reviews I get will not be angry or annoying (Like I got on another, unnamed site), or else I shall have to shread you. Remember, authors like myself thrive on reviews!

Your through the Love, Laughter, and Lies,

Realistic Fate, your primary source for all things cynical and pessimistic.


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